But can an aspiring world-class newspaper find happiness operating in a part of the world where freedom to oppress and suppress is much more entrenched than freedom of the press?

From the April 19 Globe and Mail:

The first edition featured stories about a government crackdown on maverick property agents, the first Emirati child to receive a kidney transplant and a new citizens police force.

But as Abu Dhabi's new English-language broadsheet, The National, was launched on Thursday, none of those headlines could rival the novelty of the newspaper's unwritten promise to its readers: To provide credible coverage of a region where media criticism of the government is rare.

"The key thing is that an enquiring, fully free press is new here and that's exactly what we're trying to create," said editor-in-chief Martin Newland, the former editor of The Daily Telegraph, who 10 years ago helped to launch Canada's National Post.

It is no small feat in the United Arab Emirates, where local newspapers are government-owned, notoriously timid and often act as little more than public-relations vehicles for the state. ...

The press in the UAE is subject to strict regulation. While the region's economic boom has resulted in some liberalization, there remains a lack of political transparency, and local rulers are extremely sensitive to critical press.

Advertisers are also fickle, and notorious for threatening to cancel contracts if they disagree with editorial content.

"They will undoubtedly face problems with censorship and government interference, and I think Martin will fight it admirably, but ultimately he will have to confront it," said Frank Kane, a British editor who came to Dubai two years ago to set up a financial paper, which had its licence revoked after a conflict with its government proprietors.

At a launch ceremony in Abu Dhabi's lavish Emirates Palace Wednesday night attended by the Crown Prince, The National's staff were unfazed. Many said the government's financial support helped them gain access to the corridors of power.

"We would like The National to be a window to the UAE, an opportunity to tell the story of national ambition and achievement and to reflect the constant social, economic and cultural evolution we are experiencing," said Mohammed Khalaf al Mazrouei, the chair of ADMC.

Hassan Fattah, The National's deputy editor who was hired from The New York Times, said of the paper's government owners: "They've delivered on every promise they've made us. We've all drunk the Kool-Aid. We really believe in what's happening here."